Store-service apparatus.



Patented Apr. '2, lsol.

No. 6mm.

` .6. STAIB,

soms sEnvlcE APPARATUS.

(Application led-June 4I5, 1900,)

A(No Model.)

mllllumwll--no) mi FFICEIW GUSTAV STAIlS, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 671,301, dated April 2,1901.`

Application met June t, 1900.

T0 tZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GUSTAV STAIB, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residingin New York city, borough of Richmond, State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Store-ServiceApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the class of store-serviceapparatus in which a carrier is received upon and projected from amovable rail or bar; and one of the objects of my invention is toprovide a brake to gradually stop the carrier when it reaches thereceiving-station to prevent injury to the parts, and in thearrangements I have shown the carrier will be held stationary upon thereceiving-rail as the latter rises until it about reaches the limit ofthe upward movement, whereupon the carrier will be released to travel toanother station.

A further object of my invention is to provide certain improvements inthe class of apparatus shown in my Patent No. 645,024, dated March 6,1900; and to these ends my invention consists in the novel details ofimprovement,that will be more fully hereinafter set forth and thenpointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming parthereof, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of astore-serviceapparatusembodyingmyinvention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailview of a portion of the apparatus at one station. Fig. 3 is an enlargedend view looking from the right in Fig. 2, illustrating the brakemechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing means for connecting aconveyer wire or rail with the receiving-rail.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters and numerals ofreference indicate corresponding parts in the several views, A Bindicate generally stations at the ends of the track or way in astore-service apparatus. 1 is a conveyer wire or rail suspended betweensaid stations, so that a carrier or car may Vtravel on the same, and itmay be maintained in a horizontal position, or it may incline from onestation to the other. I have illustrated the conveyer wire 1 as adaptedto have its direction of inclination changed from either station towardthe other, and for these purposes I have shown the fol- Serial No.19,101. (No model.)

lowing arrangements, viz: At each station is a guide 2, shown in theform of a bracket eX- tended vertically, and I have shown the sameconnected to asupport in the form of a tube or har 3, depending from theceiling, the bracket having openings to receive the support, screws 4serving to hold the bracket in position on the support. The latter mayhave a detachable cap 5 at the lower end. 6 is a car or traveler shownprovided with rollers 6, adapted to travel up and down the inner edge 2aof guide 2. The car or traveler 6 at each station is connected to thecorresponding end of conveyer-wire 1, and the arrangement I have shownis substantially that shown in my said Patent No. 645,024, 7 being ayoke pivotally connected to car 6 and connected by wires S with a bridge9, that is connected to wire 1 hya bar 10, the ba1'10 being alined withwire 1. The car or traveler 6 is provided with a pulley or roller 6b atits upper part, which receives a rope 11 or other iiexible connection,one end of which is secured, as at 11, and it passes from roller 6b overa roller or pulley 12, carried by guide or bracket 2, depends therefrom,and receives in its lower bight a roller 13, connected with a handle 14,from whence the rope 11 passes up over a roller or pulley 15, showncarried by the guide or bracket, from which it depends, and is connectedwith a carrier-receiving rail or har 16. These devices are similarlyarranged at each station A B. It will be understood that by drawing downthe handle 14 the corresponding car 6 and rail 16 will be raised.

17 is a rope, wire, or' similar connection which passes overhead betweenthe stations, and its ends are respectively connected with the lowerparts of the cars 6 at two stations. At each station the rope or wire 17passes overan upper pulley or roller 1S, thence down under a lowerpulley 19, and up to the car 6. The pulleys 18 and 19 are shown carriedby the guide or bracket 2. The arrangement is such that when a car atone station is raised rope 17 will'be pulled, which will draw down thecar 6 at the other station, and thus the inclination of conveyer wire orrail 1 from one station toward the other can be changed. The inner edge2 of guide 2 is shown substantially vertical at 2", from whence it i nIOO vclines upwardly and outwardly at 2C, and near its upper end has ashoulder or abutment 2d, against which the upper roller 6a of car 6 canrest, the. car being raised high enough for this purpose. (See Fig. 2.)The conveyer wire or rail 1 is stretched taut between the cars 6, (whichmay be done by turnbuckles 89,) and when a roller 6a is above theshoulder 2d the car 6 will be kept from descending spontaneously, andyet can be readily drawn down, the/roller rising over the shoulder.

2O represents braces between the supports 3 and a wall 21 to resistlateral strain on the supports.

The receiving-rails 16 are pivotally connected to the bars 10 and arethus maintained in alinement with the conveyer-wire 1, as in my saidpatent, and a carrier 22 is adapted to travel along rail 1 to thereceivingrail 16, and the free end of the latter is maintained in anormal position by the rope 11 and a stop 23 thereon, that is adapted toengage an abutment 241. As the car 22 travels down an incline itsprogress should be arrested near the operator, and to accomplish this ina gradual manner, so as to prevent shocks and injury to the parts, Iprovide a brake arranged as follows, viz: 25 is a rod or bar one end ofwhich is guided in a bracket or eye 26 on the under side of rail 16, rod25 having a stop 27 (which may be adjustable by means of screw-threads)to abut against the bracket 26, the bracket being nea'i1 the inner orpivotal end of the rail. The rod 25 extends beneath the rail 16 andtoward its free end normally at an inclination to the rail, so that theouter or free end of the rod is at a greater distance from the rail thanits inner end. At its outer or free end the rod 25 is keptfrom slidingbackward by an abutment 28, depending from the rail 16, but in suchposition that the rod 25 may rise and fall; Rod 25 preferably has aroller 25a to engage said abutment. The rod 25 is normally maintained inthe lower position by a lever or arm 29, that is pivotally carried byrail 16and provided with a cam-groove 29a, that receives an extension orpivot 25h, which may be the pivot of roller 25, The lever or arm 29 isconnected with rope or connection 11, whereby the rail 16 and itsconnected parts are normally maintained as in Fig. 1. The lever or arm29 and its cam-groove 29 are so shaped and positioned that when theparts are hanging from rope 11 the free end of rod 25 will be locked orprevented from rising. When, however,the lever 29 is swung on itspivot,the cam-groove 29a will slide along the extension or pivot 25h,whereby the'free end of rod 25 will be enabled to rise. This position ofthe parts is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. By the arrangements I haveshown the lever or arm 29 is moved to unlock the brake-rod 25 when therail 16 is raised to the position for projecting the carrier 22 alongthe conveyer-rail 1. For this purpose the roller 18 is so located thatthe depending rope 11 will raise the rail 16 nearly to the uppermostposition without moving the cam-groove 29a, and then as the railcontinues to rise the rope 11 will pull the upper end of lever 29outwardly, moving the cam-groove in a reverse direction, and thusreleasing the free end of brake-rod 25, which will rise along abutmentl28, thereby reducing the normal distance between rod 25 and rail 16,all as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. By preference the lower part ofleveror arm 29 is bifurcated to straddle the rail 16 and rod 25, and

its arms are each provided with a cam-groove' 29, alined with each otherand adapted to receive the two projecting ends of extension or pivot25h. (See Fig. 3.) By this means lever 29 acts on rod 25 more evenlythan if only one cam-groove 29a were used; but this could be done, ifdesired.

The action of the brake in con neotion with the carrier 22 is asfollows: The rollers 22 of the carrier ride upon the conveyer-rail 1 andreceiving-rail16, and from the carrierfrarne depends a hanger 22h, thatis provided with a suitable hook or support to sustain a basket or thelike 30. The hanger 22b has an abutment 22C, shown in the form of aroller, which is adapted to ride under the rod 25, so as to encounterthe same. By preference one side of hanger 22bis open, so that it can bedisengaged readily from the rail 1 or 16 sidewise. The distance from thelower edge of receiving-rail 16 to the upper surface of abutment 22c isgreater than the distance between the lower surface or rail 16 and rod25 adjacent to bracket 26, but less than thedistance between rail 16 androd 25 near the outer or free end thereof. By this means the abutment22c is free to travel under the inner end of rod 2 5, and as it ad-Vances toward the outer or free end of the latter it will graduallyencounter the same, thereby bearing on it with braking effect, and asrod 25 is maintained between'abutments 26 and 28 it will bend upwardlymore or less; but as its outer end is held by abutment 28 and lever 29at a greater distance from rail 16 than abutment 22 the effect will beto gradually jam the carrier and its hanger between rail 16 and rod 25,thereby bringing the carrier to a stop at a distance from abutment 28,as in full lines in Fig. 2, when the carrier will be firmly held untilreleased by the action of lever 29. The carrier will be stopped whenrail 16'is about in the position shown in Fig. 1 at station B. As thestopping of the carrier is gradual, injury and shock are prevented. Asthe carrier is firmly held by the brake, the rail 16 can be raised toabout the desired height for projecting the carrier toward an oppositestation. without permitting the carrier to advance along the rail, andthen at about the end of the upward stroke of the rail the rope 11 willpull sidewise on lever 29 to release rod 25, as before IOO IIO

IZO

ISO

described, and the carrier will then be free to travel down the inclinedrail 16 to the conveyer rail or Wire 1.

The relative arrangements of the parts I have illustrated are such thatwhen handle 14 is pulled down (the carrier being held by the brake onrail 16) the rope 11 (at station B) will simultaneously raise car 6 andthe corresponding rail 16, and as said car rises it will causeconnection 17 to pull down car 6 at the opposite station, thus changingthe direction ot inclination of wire 1, so that when car 6 at thesending-station reaches the upper end of guide 2 a continued pull onhandle 14 Will complete the upward stroke of its rail 16 and will shiftlever 29 to unlock the carrier. The same operation takes place at bothstations.

While conveyer-wire 1 may be connected to bar 10 in any suitable manneror as shown in my said Patent No. 645,024, I have shown an arrangementfor the purpose, as follows, (see Fig. 4,) viz: At the upper edge bar 10is provided with a tread 10a narrower than the body portion, so as toreceive the groove or roller 22a of carrier 22, and 10b is a threadedbore leading into the upper part of bar 10, the tread 10 at one sidethereof being dispensed with and the upper edge 10C being preferablyprovided with a groove. The threaded end 1a of conveyer-wire 1 isscrewed into bore 10b and bent down upon the edge 10c to bring the topof Wire 1 about flush with the top of tread 10a, the edge 10d of thelatter being undercut adjacent to wire 1 to overlie the latter. Whengroove 10c is used, parts 1 and 10 are kept from relative lateralmovement. As the receiving-rail 16 is also pivotally connected with bar10, the former and the conveyer-wire 1 are conveniently connectedtogether in alinement to permit the carrier to freely travel from one tothe other.

It will be understood that my improved braking devices are not limitedto use in connection with a conveyer wire or rail 1 whose direction ofinclination is adapted to be changed; but the brake can be used withrail 16 if a conveyer Wire or track ismaintained at a constant level,the rail 16 being pivotally supported at one end.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A store-serviceapparatus comprising a track, a carrier-receiving rail pivotallyconnected therewith, a brake-rod attached thereto and normallyinclinedrelatively to the rail, means for operating the rail, and means forholding the rod in the normal position and for allowing the rod to movetoward the rail, substantially as described.

2. A store-service apparatus comprising a track, a carrier-receivingrail pivotally connected therewith, a brake-rod normally inclinedrelatively to the rail, an abutment to resist endwise movement of therod, and

means for holding the rod in the braking p0- sition and for allowing therod to move toward the rail, substantially as described.

3. A store-service apparatus comprising a track, a carrier-receivingrail pivotally connected therewith, a brake-rod normally inclinedrelatively thereto, means to limit endwise movement of the rod, andmeans for locking the rod in the inclined position and for releasing thesame, substantially as described.

4. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, abrake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, means to limit endwisemovement of the rod, and a lever or arm connected with the rail and rodand arranged to lock the rod in theinclined position and to release thesame, substantially as described.

5. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, abrake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, and a lever or armconnected With the rail and rod and having a a cam to lock the rod inthe braking position and to release the same, substantially asdescribed. A

6. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, abrake-rod normally inclined relatively thereto, means to limit endwisemovement of the rod, a lever or arm pivotally carried by the rail andhaving a cam connected with the rod to lock the rod in the inclined.position and to allow the rod to move toward the rail, substantially asdescribed.

'7. A store-service apparatus comprising a carrier-receiving rail, abrake-rod suspended below the rail and normally inclined relativelythereto, an abutment to limit endwise movement of the rod, a leverpivotally carried by the rail and having a cam to lock the rod in thebraking position, and means to release the rod by the action of the cam,substantially as described.

8. In a store-service apparatus the combination of a track, acarrier-receiving rail, pivotally connected therewith, a brake-rodnormally inclined relatively thereto, and means for locking said rod inthe braking position and for releasing the same, with a carrier adaptedto ride on the rail and having an abutment to pass under the rod and toencounter the same whereby the carrier Will be stopped upon the rail,substantially as described. 9. The combinationof a track or rail, areceiving-rail, a brake-rod. normally inclined thereto, a lever or armto lock the rod in the braking position, and an operating connectionconnected with the lever or arm arranged to elevate the rail and operatesaid lever or arm, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a track or rail, a receiving-rail, a brake-rodhung below the same, a lever or arm havinga cam to control thebrake-rod, a rope connected with the lever or arm, and a pulleyreceiving the rope IOO and located so that when the rail rises the leveror arm will be operated to unlock the brake-rod, substantially asdescribed.

l1. In a store-service apparatus the combination of a conveyer-track, apair of guides, cars or travelers connected with the track to ride uponthe guides, receiving-rails pivotally connected with the track, aconnection to operate each car, one end of each connection beingconnected with a rail and with a support,pulleys over which theconnection passes, a handle connected With a bight in the connection,and the connection being connected. with the adjacent car, substantiallyas described.

12. In a store-service apparatus the combination of a conveyer-'track, apair of guides, cars or travelers connected with the track to ride uponthe guides, a connection connecting two cars together and guided bypulleys, receiving-rails pivotally connected with the track, a ropeconnected with each rail and having one end secured, each car having apulley receiving the corresponding rope, pulleys above the car receivingthe rope, and a handle connected with a bight in the rope, substantiallyas described.

13. The combination of a bar having a threaded bore entering the same atan inclination to its edge, With a wire screwed into said bore and bentdown parallel to said edge, and a rail pivotally connected with saidbar, substantially as described.

14. The combination with a bar having a tread and a threaded boreentering the same at au angle to said tread, and also having a reducedportion at the end opposite the tread, of a conveyer-Wire screwed intosaid bore and bent down upon said reduced portion, and a rail pivotallyconnected With the bar, substantially as described.

eUsTAv sTAIB. l

Witnesses:

A. R. ANGUS, T. F. BOURNE.

